This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

In the spring of 1985, Bill Mora was wrapping up his high school education and getting ready

to move to Pukipsy, New York.

Come fall, he'd be starting his freshman year at Vassar College.

Like many incoming college students, Bill was concerned about how he would pay for his

education.

My financial aid package in my freshman year was basically a combination of student loans

and work study.

But at the end of Bill's sophomore year, he received an unexpected letter in the mail.

I get this letter congratulating me for receiving something called the Hager Scholars Award.

And the letter explained that the award would take the place in my financial aid package

of my student loan.

And here's what it said, this is an interest-free loan with a moral obligation to repay.

And I was like, what?

Like what does that mean?

Okay, I will take the money.

Like, you know, I think my young self was like, I will take the money and I don't have

to have a student loan anymore.

Thank you very much.

It wasn't that simple though.

The phrase moral obligation to repay, stuck with Bill, it made him think.

So you know at the time I was like, what is that?

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